What is a grinding machine?
After a stretch of research, I have learned that you can find many different types of grinding machines to do any kind of machine work, house work, automotive work you can think of. Before we get into the different types of grinding machines, you first need to understand what a grinding machine is. A grinding machine is a power tool or machine tool that contains a wheel or circular abrasive disc, that allows you to slowly chip away at a surface you are working on. It can speed up the process up to 100 times faster than manual sanding. A grinding machine can also remove heavy chunks of metal at one time. Most of the time, cleaning up spotty or messy welds on a piece of steel or sheet metal. There is a frame (portable grinder or machine grinder) that holds the disc in place, which is driven by a force, mostly an electric motor, that allows that disc to rotate at a very fast speed. If this is a portable grinder, you can move the grinder across a wood, metal, or various surface you are trying to grind. A stationary or machine grinder, stays fixed, so the user can precisely and carefully grind the surface (most of the time smaller pieces).
What are the different types of grinding machines?
- Belt Grinder – is a stationary machine, used to mostly machine or grind metal surfaces that need precision. This grinder is powered by en electric motor, that rotates a jig at very fast speeds, which turns the abrasive coated belt very quickly.
- Bench Grinder – most of those today have two wheels, because it is stationary, the frame will house a very large electric motor, which can be turned on, and turn two wheels or “discs” at the same time. You will find a couple of these on my work bench, I use on disc to grind metal, and the other I have placed a polishing wheel, so I can grind down my metal surfaces, and then polish it after I have finished with the grinding.
- Cylindrical Grinder – This usually will include center motors, or non center motors. This will have many different grinding wheels, that can made a cylindrical grind. Bolts, heads, bearings, bushings are the types of items machined form a cylindrical grinder.
- Surface Grinder – this machine is large, and usually has a table, that will protrude across the grinding wheel. Hydraulic pumps and hoses are used so they can cross feed the surface grinder, and most of the time will be held in place with a magnetic chuck.
- Die Grinder – is a portable fast turning tool that has a small grinding bit. Usually they are powered by air because of how fast these die grinders spin, and are mostly used in automotive settings. When repairing thin sheet metal, you need a tool that will spin very fast, to clean up any spot welds, body filler or items like that.
- Angle Grinder – This is another hand held or portable power tool that is used in fabrication or construction work. This is the best candidate to use when you are cleaning up welds, or a piece of heavy thick metal.
What are some good reasons why I should own a grinder?
First off, any mechanic or individual who works with power tools, has a well known idea of why you should own a grinder of some sort. However, I did think about this and applied this to me personally, and maybe some of the reason I have grinders could be justification enough for you to go and purchase one of your own.
Rust Removal
I purchase antique benches, and other pieces of old metal. One of the quickest way I start to clean up anything is taking my die grinder, and turn my air compressor on. With the thin flexible discs, I can easily with perfect precision, remove heavy or small amounts of rust, without sacrificing the integrity of the metal. We all know that when your steel or iron is exposed to the elements, it will rust, and heavily.
Automotive Work
If you purchase a vehicle which was totaled or in desperate need of repair, you will more than likely need a grinder. There are some places on an automotive frame, that has spot welds, you will have to grind those spot welds out, so you can remove damaged pieces of the frame, or body panels to replace with newer ones. You would also use a grinder to smooth and even out any body filler from a dent or rust repair in the sheet metal itself, and get it prepared to be primed and painted. You can also use very light abrasive discs to help restore dull headlights, which could give you a better advantage to driving at night.
Wood Work
You can use grinders for various reasons, however I personally used my grinding machines a ton when I would work with any kind of wood. From smoothing it out, to sculpting custom indentions or works of art themselves. I also remember when I was starting on a custom table and chairs, our machines had to grind away small pieces wood, to smooth and even the surface out completely. I was installing a new tub/shower enclosure, and could not fit any kind of saw into this tight angle, and I used my grinder to slowly remove the wood that was 2 inches to thick, allowing me to install the inclosure.
Metal Polishing
Sometimes finishers or workers would suggest you could use a sand block and fine grit sand paper. However, the process can be more precise and metal could be more transparent and smooth. If you complete the process using finer and finer grit grinding discs you will end up with a mirror like finish. Aluminum products can be restored and shiny quicker when using a die or angle grinder in no time. Another use for these angle grinders in particular, I found is to purchase various types of polishing wheels, which are strong surfaces that allow the user to place polishing compound, which acts as a very nice abrasive, bringing any dull metal object back to life like never before.
Cutting Through Tile and Stone
Some angle grinders are equipped with a diamond wheel, and they use those types of wheels for masonry work. Which is anything to do with concrete, brick, tile, etc. They use these grinders with water for cooling, to precisely cut through these hard surfaces, making the job professional and clean.
Removing Mortar From Old Brick
When me and my wife purchased our home, we had to do some renovation, we had to remove old brick, and it was not as easy as using a sledge hammer, and busting up old brick, we intended on reusing the brick, however, we needed access to the interior of the wall, from the outer space, so each brick was removed one by one. We took an angle grinder, and slowly chewed away at the old mortar, then sliding each brick out.
Sharpening Metallic Edges
Stationary table to grinders and angle grinders are mostly used when a user wants to sharpen metal objects such as knives, machete’s, lawn mower blades, chain saw blades as well. The process to do this will take minutes, compared to the hours it would take using manual labor.
What is the best brand grinder I could purchase?
There are fantastic brands and manufacturers out there who have kept the hard working individual in mind, and I personally purchased my Makita 1/4 inch die grinder on Amazon.com. I have owned it for almost 5 years now, and have used it on tons of projects, and with the proper care, I expect it to last me 2 times as long as it already has. I have owned many different types of table top grinders, and I had amazing luck with my Dewalt 8 inch Bench grinder which I also purchased on Amazon. com. It has lasted me many years, and I personally keep a grinding stone on the left, and a polishing wheel on the right side, and I am always confident it will power on anytime I need it to.
Conclusion
When it comes to handling or using these magnificent tools, always remember that safety should come first. Because of the high noise these motors and discs produce, it is always smart to wear hearing protection. When these discs are moving at such a high rate of speed, tiny particles of stone, metal, or wood for example can fly at hundreds of miles per second into your eyes. Make sure you always wear eye protection as well. I can not express how important it is to properly maintain and care for your grinding machines. I have seen so many amazing tools “die” over the years because of a lack of proper care. Grinding machines in general, can be handy for you no matter if you are into construction, automotive repair, or tackling a DIY project, these different handy grinders is essential to getting a job done perfectly and on time.